Madison officer helps homeless man

Tuesday morning Madison police received a call about a man who had been sitting on the curb of the Capital Square for what the caller said appeared to be two days. Upon arrival, the officer found a 61-year-old double amputee out in the cold.

"I wasn't there to chase him away," the officer said, "but to find out if he needed help." Madison police said the man was homeless and the officer offered to give him a ride to a free clinic. The man declined.

Police said the man wore prosthetic legs and did not have a cane. The officer asked the man what would help. "A wheelchair would help," he said. The officer told him he would make some calls to help find a wheelchair.

The report said St. Vincent de Paul offered to donate a chair, which the officer delivered to the shelter where the man had been staying and wrote the man's name on the back of the chair.

The officer stopped by the shelter and found the man seated in his much-needed chair. The man thanked the officer for his help before he rolled away.

Police said the officer asked his name not be released.

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